The present invention relates to modular electrical connectors known as modular phone receptacles or jacks. More particularly, it relates to a new and improved low profile printed circuit board mounted right angle modular phone jack adapted for use in applications where height or space limitations render the use of conventional modular phone jacks mounted in accordance with conventional methods unsuitable.
Modular electrical connectors known as modular phone receptacles or jacks have been known in the art for many years. Although connectors of this type were orginally designed for the telecommunications industry, and in particular for telephones, these connectors have found wide acceptance other than for connecting a telephone to a telephone network. Another common use is as an input/output (I/O) interface with other communications peripheral equipment.
Mounted modular jacks are customarily used to serve as an interface between a standard modular plug and a printed circuit board. Modular phone jacks adapted to receive a conventional modular plug generally comprise a housing with a plug receiving socket formed therein. The socket is defined by a plug receiving opening, opposed top and bottom surfaces joined by opposed side surfaces extending from said opening to join said back surface. A plurality of stamped, metallic elongated conductors are mounted to the housing in some fashion. Each conductor includes a contact portion at one end extending diagonally into the socket, a lead portion at the other end and an intermediate portion between said contact portion and lead portion.
Modular phone jacks may comprise either one piece or two piece units. Illustrative one-piece units employing flat stamped metallic conductors are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,292,736 and 4,315,664. Both of these patents disclose a one-piece dielectric housing having channels formed in the external surfaces thereof which are adapted to locate and hold the flat stamped conductors therein.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,457,570, a low profile modular phone jack of the one-piece type is disclosed, shown in FIGS. 10 or 11 therein. In accordance with this patent, space savings are achieved by removing the top wall of the connector housing of the modular jack and by inserting the housing into a cut out formed in the printed circuit board member. The low profile connector embodiments shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 possess several shortcomings. For example, they require the use of a less conventional or special order side-latch modular mating plug. Moreover, the printed circuit board must be provided with an additional rectangular cut out to receive the connector housing. The conductors are positioned in the connector manually and therefore these jacks cannot be manufactured by modern lower-cost fully automated methods.
Another low profile modular jack assembly of the one-piece type is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,497,526. In accordance with a low profile embodiment described in this patent, a printed circuit board is disposed within a housing, having upper and lower housing panels extending parallel to the circuit board. A one-piece modular jack is mounted on the circuit board and a cut out clearance notch is provided in the bottom wall of the jack and in the circuit board respectively.
An upstanding flange is provided which connects the upper and lower housing panels which includes a mating opening which communicates with the socket opening of the circuit board mounted jack. The opening in the flange is provided with a latching shoulder for cooperation with the latch member on the plug. Insertion of the plug member through the flange opening and into the socket permits the latch on the plug to be retained by the retaining means formed by the combination of the latching shoulders in the flange opening and the cut out portions formed in the bottom wall of the jack member and the circuit board.
The structure depicted in this patent has several disadvantages. It requires the use of additional panels to house the circuit board. In mother-daughter arrangements, the invention still would not provide a low profile modular jack which could be used on a plurality of closely spaced parallel circuit boards. The reason for this is that whatever height above the circuit board which is eliminated, is added below the circuit board by the added housing members needed to form the latching means. This structure would merely interfere with corresponding jacks on an adjacent board in a parallel closely-spaced circuit board array such as a mother-daughter arrangement.
In addition to the one-piece modular jack assemblies described above, two-piece modular jacks are known. Typically, two-piece modular phone jack assemblies include a connector housing having a forward end with a plug receiving opening therein, two opposed side walls, the internal surfaces thereof defining socket side surfaces, a top wall joining said side walls and a rearward end with a rear opening formed therein. A carrier subassembly is mounted through the rear opening of the housing. The subassembly has a dielectric support member to which the conductors are mounted and means are provided which cooperate between the housing and the subassembly to lock the subassembly to the housing.
An elegant two-piece modular phone jack is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,618,207, granted Oct. 21, 1986 and assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. The jack assembly disclosed in said application provides a carrier subassembly for the conductors comprising a support member including a body portion, a horizontal base portion extending rearwardly of the body portion and a generally horizontal cantilevered top portion extending forwardly of the body portion. The conductors are postioned and staked onto the upper surface of the top portion of the support member so that simultaneous forming and positioning of said conductors can occur during the manufacturing process. The two-piece jack disclosed in said U.S. Pat. No. 4,618,207 provides a modular jack of excellent mechanical strength and integrity which can be made by fully automated methods in an extremely low cost manufacturing process. Although the two-piece modular phone jack assembly described in said application provides distinct advantages over prior art two-piece or one-piece assemblies, still lower profile modifications of the one and two-piece type are desired or required for many modern applications.